WASHINGTON — Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said he asserted his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself “almost 100 times” during questioning by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Speaking Monday night on his podcast, Jones said he was interviewed by the panel earlier in the day. He said he invoked the Fifth Amendment on the advice of his attorney because the panel could use testimony “to twist something against you.”
Jones had been subpoenaed in November and is the latest witness to say he has declined to answer questions. There was no immediate comment from a committee spokesman. CNN reported on the remarks by Jones earlier.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, wrote to Jones in a subpoena letter Nov. 22 that the panel had information he helped organize the rally at the Ellipse that immediately preceded the attack on the Capitol. The letter also stated that Jones has repeatedly promoted false allegations of election fraud and implied he had knowledge of then-President Donald Trump’s plans with respect to the rally.
“The whole thing is tainted,” Jones said of the investigation. The committee’s lawyers, he said, “came off as polite and nice,” but he raised concerns about Democrats on the panel, particularly Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who he called a “predator.”
“They kept asking me, ‘Who was your White House connection,’” Jones said, adding he believes they were asking about Caroline Wren, an operative and fundraiser who helped organize the rally. “So, yes, that was my contact,” he said.
Jones also said he was asked about his contacts with members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, and added he did recall “being at Hooters” when some of them were there.
Jones said that he didn’t know the answer to about half the questions he was asked, many of them dealing with emails he had never seen, “at least from memory.”
“They have everything that’s already on my phone” and saw some of the texts he exchanged with organizers of the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 riot, he said. “They already know I didn’t do anything.”
